BC

We're not ICBC's scapegoat

The cost of collision repairs in B.C. has gone up 30 per cent in two years – but the industry says it's not to blame.

Ken McCormack, president and CEO of the Automotive Retailers Association, made that argument Wednesday, responding to news that ICBC’s deficit now sits at $1.3 billion.

On Sunday, an ICBC press release said the “sizable and significant” deficit is in part due to a dramatic increase in the number and cost of collisions.

McCormack agreed that costs are rising, but pushed back against the idea that repair shops have anything to do with it.

“By putting those numbers out there … it might leave the public with the impression that shops are conducting themselves in a manner that (is) escalating those costs. In fact, the body shops in this province have little or no pull whatsoever on those costs,” he said.

“Our concern is that our industry, through these announcements, might end up being used as a scapegoat for the escalating costs at ICBC.”

For more on why repair costs are rising so fast, as well as why McCormack wants auto repair shops to take over some of ICBC's processing work, check out the full story on Castanet's sister business news website, Okanagan Edge.